The Vampire King Returns

Ever Dark #2

by X. Aratare

Julian Harrow and Christian Thorne are now Vampires! And both young men have been united with their Masters after trials and tribulations. But if they thought that becoming Vampires was dangerous and exciting, being the fledglings of the exiled Lord Balthazar Ravenscroft and the Vampire King Daemon will blow that out of the water. Because both Balthazar and Daemon have enemies that are intent on making sure that they and their new fledglings are given their Second Deaths.

WARNING: This is a long serial that is divided into book-length segments. Every single one ends in a cliffhanger. We anticipate there being 7 to 8 volumes.

Genres: Romance, Vampires, Fantasy, Audiobook, M M Romance, Paranormal, LGBT

223 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 6, 2023

About the author

X. Aratare is the pseudonym for Raythe Reign's Gay(M/M) books.

Reviews

[toointofiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You are my treasure. My one. My fledgling. I will keep you safe above all things. What you feel towards me is our connection. Not compulsion. Our … fate to be with one another throughout all eternity."


Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Spice Meter: 🌶️🌶️,5

❗This review may contain some minor spoilers❗


As I've mentioned in the previous review, this is not a typical book series. it is a long serial, consisting of numerous chapters, all separated into fifteen-chapter volumes with shockingly gorgeous covers. This series can be found in hard copy and ebook form on Raythe Reign's website and all chapters can be found in audiobook for free on YouTube.

First of all, things are progressing steadily with each chapter of this series. This is one of the easiest reads someone can find if they're looking for something short and to the point. Personally, Ever Dark is perfect right now because work has been hell and I hardly have any energy to do much more than read a few pages and sleep. Moreover, Volume Two of the series continues right where the first one left off (as if it is one ongoing book) and ends at chapter 30 with an array of well-presented exposition on the world, the lore, and the characters, and a pretty hilarious cliffhanger. The lore, and the way the parallel worlds work in particular, is one of my favorite parts of the story (the other one being the smut of course😇). I also love how there is an equal amount of humor and drama which sort of balances my emotions a bit (they can't handle too much excitement, at the moment 😅)

Furthermore, I love the characters more and more with each volume. Julian is like an emotional labrador in the cutest way possible. Although he is having a hard time dealing with becoming a vampire, especially since vampires killed his parents, he is slowly coming to terms with it and learning to use his multiple magical abilities passed down to him by Daemon. Speaking of which, the Vampire King has been the highlight of this volume with his first experience of the modern world. His being utterly and hilariously shocked by phones and fashion is ridiculously adorable for someone this powerful and badass. However, the best part is casually walking around Balthzar's house completely nude and shocking everyone he passes by. He is quite the specimen 😍😍 Besides, the relationship between Julian and Daemon is progressing rapidly. It may be a little too fast-paced for my liking but I am willing to accept it given the theme of the story. Even though they have known each other for less than two days, they already behave as if they've been together for years. It's sweet, if not a bit hasty, especially for an obsessive slow-burn romance fan like me. While they haven't had sex yet, they did some tender second-base activities that had me breathing hard and seeing stars. I'm going to need more of that soon!

In addition, Christian has his own adorable moments. He is taking the whole vampire experience much better than Julian. He has this analytical, scientific brain that helps him deal with this life-changing situation and makes him genuinely curious about his new abilities. Also, Balthazar Ravenscroft, Christian's Master, is going through his own shocking revelation in this volume. He has a lot to deal with on top of being responsible for an entire House of vampires relying on him and a new fledging to take care of. Fortunately for him, his relationship with Christian is moving along, although, much slower than Julian and Daemon's (still a little too fast for my taste, but as I already stated, I'm willing to compromise). Christian has a lot of past trauma to deal with before he fully allows a closer relationship to form with his master but he finds himself becoming more affectionate towards Balthazar chapter by chapter. There isn't anything particularly spicy currently going on between them, but I am hoping this will change soon!

Lastly, two characters have snuck their way into my heart and chose to stay there, Sophia Strange and Arcius. Sophia is, as her name suggests, strange in an adorable, cartoonish way. According to Balthazar and Julian, she is an anime character that came to life, which is pretty much all I need to fall in love. She is a Seeyr, meaning she has the ability of prognostication, which she uses to help the protagonists with their upcoming conflicts, and is a new member of House Ravenscroft. Just like every other relationship in this series, Sophia becomes fast friends with literally everyone, especially Julian and Balthazar. It might have bothered me a little bit (like Julian and Christian's respective relationships) but I like that she claims to know these friendships are happening in the future so she's just saving time. Additionally, Arcius, Balthazar's closest friend, is a scary-looking, bear-like man with a soft marshmallow heart. He is a former Confessor of the Order, which is a kind of vampire priest position. He is also everyone's dad in this book, and I mean actual dad, not daddy, although I do not doubt he has that kind of energy hidden in that enormous body. He acts like an overbearing mother hen, taking care of everyone as if they aren't all ancient, all-powerful vampires (Julian and Christian aren't old or powerful yet but still 😝) I would love nothing more than to see this man fight and fuck, as soon as possible.


✨What do you think of Ever Dark so far?✨

[BeckieLouLou · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Audiobook. Vampires and humans and love romances and bromances and friendships. Series of nine books with wonderful world building and a large cast of characters. Exceptionally well done character introductions, spaced out and different enough to keep them all straight, narration is with multiple actors, so that helped too. Low angst, low drama, a lot goes right for these characters and they actively try to fix hurts and heal emotional wounds for themselves and each other. Not OTT super sweet, but lots of support and caring. Felt like a mini series or soap opera since there were multiple romances and many different storylines with multiple POV. Really enjoyed the story, kept moving, stayed interesting. Totally binge-able, no tedious recapping. Recommend reading them all together or very close together due to the large cast and many plots, you need to remember who everyone is for the full impact at the end. Must read all installments for the HEA as many end on cliffhangers.

Sounded like there was a spinoff, Vampire Academy, that I would be interested in just to see what the characters are up to.

HEA, series, vampires, humans, m/m, urban fantasy vibes.

[Sugarpop · Rating 5 out of 5]

The continuation of the serial's first part continues with some world and relationship building. I can't wait to see how this continues.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good followup. I feel like not much happened, but then again.... this is a 9 book series.

[user · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obsessed with this world and these characters. Not a lot even happened in this book. Cuz the characters were basically coming into power. But I loved every second of this book. Every character is so complex entertaining.

Sophia strange!! I love her so much!! Fiona Darksilver!! Beautiful Badass black character. Arcius Kane!! Love him as well. I just love all of these characters. From the mains to the sides. Can’t wait to start book 3 tomorrow.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the humour and how it balances the story and I think Aratare writes really fun characters. Her side characters are particularly interesting and nuanced since they don't have the burden of being audience inserts or power fantasies. Arcius is my favourite character by a long shot. Something that I love about Aratare's characters is that they always have a wide support network. Their romantic partner is never their whole world. They have family, and friends. It makes everything feel a lot more believable and is just a dynamic I love.

I found it a little galling that the chapter where Christian and Balthazar have sex for the first time is called Slow Burn. That's a misnomer. They've known each other for FAR too short a time for it to be considered a slow burn. It also just feels strange that Christian is trusting Balthazar so quickly. He is in a position of power over him. He has MIND CONTROL abilities. Not only has Christian been abused and should be more put hesitant about these kinds of issues but he's the logical one out of the two new vampires. He should not be rushing into things. It feels out of character. I would of loved for what Balthazar had said to be what had happened. For them to start slower with maybe just getting to see each other undressed if that. Especially since it's not like the story needs the smut. If Aratare felt the story was lacking smut she can just write another scene for Julien and Daemon.

I like the implication from what Julien guessed about Sophia going off to her room that the Seer power requires time to work. I'm assuming meditation and focus are probably important. I get that there are drawbacks due to the physiological toll of the gift, and that if it's not fated a prophecy can change. However, I feel like it will still be too overpowered if there isn't other drawbacks like it taking time to do. Simply because, I don't trust Aratare to write in such a way that it consistently feels like a real burden. She tends to often lessen the impact something would have on someone's psyche. I don't know if I'm explaining that right. Because it's not like she's afraid of exploring hard topics. The scenes of the bad people that they find are brutal and intense. But I don't know if Aratare has never experienced mental illness or trauma or if she simply doesn't feel comfortable or doesn't know how to keep her usually light tone while exploring more realistic responses but she frequently brings up that a character is suffering or has experienced trauma but they resolve it quickly or it's narratively brushed under the rug when inconvenient. Even one of Daemon's few moments of weakness and irrationality - his claustrophobia - is resolved almost immediately. The next time cars come up he hops in. He's by no means happy about it but still it literally took an hour or two for him to start overcoming a fear on his own that's been building up for centuries.

I also just feel vaguely uncomfortable with Sophia constantly being compared to a Japanese school girl. Especially since I think there was a description later that implied her to be white and not Japanese. Which felt bizarre considering how often descriptions of her had Japanese in them and the overwhelming whiteness of the cast of characters.

I'm also real curious is there just one house for each power or multiple. Is Balthazar's the only Eyros house or are there others that weren't exiled? I feel like that would be an interesting dynamic to explore. I also feel like it would be interesting if we had a different Kali house to compare to the weird eugenics aesthetic one we've met. Like a Kali house in Mexico where there are practices in place that make death more familiar and less scary would be really cool and interesting.

[Lucy Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished the second book here pretty quickly after I finished the first one and I’ve really been enjoying the story on this one.

I really liked getting to learn more about the plot and what is really going on in the vampire world. Learning that there really is more to the Order and the vampire religion was super interesting. I also liked getting to see a bit more of the characters and learn about them. There were some characters that I feel like we should really learn more about as well.

I really liked Balthazar as a character. In the first book I wasn’t sure how I felt about him but as we read further I’m starting to like him more and more. He seems like an actually good guy not a creep like he seemed in the first book. However, the character I want to learn more about is Arcius. He seems like the kind of character that I would like a lot for their dynamicness in the plot. The spicy level was also a level 5.

Overall, I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 star rating. I really enjoyed it and am excited for the next book as well.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

As this story moves forward we now get to see Daemon on Earth, which doesn't actually make things all that much smoother. Julian and Christian each have their respective masters now but they still have much to adjust to with their sudden transition to vampirism, and each of them adjust in different ways. While Balthazar is still uncertain of Daemon, he does want the best for his fledgling and is trying to make headway at being someone Christian can trust. Meanwhile, Daemon wants Julian as everything, but finally having a fledgling is a major adjustment. Even as these four are trying to figure out how they work and what vampire life will be like, those who oppose them start to make themselves known. We get our first look into of The Order, both the people in it and the threat that it will be to Daemon and those who would follow him. Much must be done to change vampire society and things will certainly not be smooth moving forward.

[Catarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok am I insane or is this not a cliffhanger at all again???????

Cliffhanger definition:
“A dramatic and exciting ending to an episode of a serial, leaving the audience in suspense and anxious not to miss the next episode.”

SPOILER AHEAD BE AWARE


THIS JUST ENDS WITH A DINNER INVITATION 😭😭😭 Mr/Miss. author please . You could’ve ended with daemon saying “you are Eryos reborn” and BAM that’s a cliffhanger. This???? This is ONCE AGAIN just an unfinished book 🥹
Don’t get me wrong I am happy I picked up this series at book 4 but man I wish I only picked it up at book 8, cause knowing I’ll be left waiting for the next ones like this is just torture 😔

Once again 4stars. Loved the writing, love the characters, I have a slight problem that by the end of book 2 only 3 days have passed. It feels like it would be a week at least or more, idk. I still like it ✌🏻

[Kali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Type: Audiobook / Full Cast Narration

Why, oh why do you go back on something you write in book one, but make the opposite such a big part of the next books? In book one we have the all powerful Vampire King Daemon knowing what a gun is because Julian knows. But now he doesn't know what a car is? Also, there are a few comments from his last time on Earth that made me think middle ages, but he must've been asleep for much more time so that the vampires forget he actually existed and turn him in a myth.

The audiobooks should be great. And in some ways they are. A full cast narration is very much appreciated. What I didn't like is that there are a lot of inner thoughts in and it's difficult to differentiate it from the spoken dialogue most of the time. Especially when the characters so often answer questions or make remarks aimed at others, but only inwardly.

[mazzina · Rating 4 out of 5]

rating - 4 stars

okay yes things are getting starteeeddddd. the couples are coming together and i love the maker/fledging dynamic and i think that this book does it really well! another thing that i really enjoy is how different the vampire political system is. vampires truly are very domestic and regimented (of course with exceptions). there is a whole process to be changed and vampires very much respect the laws.

this is definitely a guilty pleasure book that you really just cannot think about too much or else things start sounding insane; like how it’s only been like 3 days since julian and christian have been changed… like what the hell 😭 but what the hell sure okay

i’m excited to read the next book!

[Lois - Who Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one mainly focuses on Christian and Julian figuring out how to be vampires and Balthazar working through the shock of the vampire king’s return. Daemon is trying to figure out the new world he has found himself in and how to take care of his fledgling. Daemon and Balthazar both find the independence of Christian and Julian humorous and admirable. I enjoyed the banter between these characters and am looking forward to reading the next one.

[He11zbelles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4⭐️ The journey continues. Christian & Julian are learning their new world and their powers. While Balthazar & Daemon are becoming closer and learning each other.

Still no spice between Christian & Balthazar and & Daemon & Julian… it’s a sloooowwww burn! I can’t believe I am continuing with this series and there is no spice! That tells you the plot and writing are done so well. There’s more action and looks like there will be more action to come.

[D. J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaaaaaah!❤️

I freaking love volume two it’s one of my favorite ones. The ending is the perfect cut off but it’s also hilarious the way that the thorns ended up reacting and the vampire King is just Vibin. One thing I don’t like about this book specifically volume two is the like switch to Cameron

[Anna Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

🎧 4.5 ⭐️It only took two books and at this time, I’m completely hooked on this world. Vampires have always been a favorite (cut my teeth on Anne Rice at a young age). The story thus far has seen two YouTube celebrities travel to a vampiric realm & turn to vampires, a vampire king, a potential war brewing, and so much more. I’m ready for the next book!

[John-Torleif Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun

I like that both Christian and Julian are experiencing growing pains in their new reality, but at the same time, they aren’t fluttering and fretting about things that can’t be changed. And Christian’s parents are truly intimidating and delightful.

[-- · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't only read the book, but I listened to the audio version on spotify. The narration is amazing. I found myself reading along with them.

I enjoyed the plot, characters; even the voice actors, the fast-paced. I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

[369Pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot thickens! I swear an entire book in this series happens over the span of a single day. I’m finding the pacing a little slow, but I’m still really captivated by the story. Can’t wait to find out what happens next!

[Alia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amaaaazzzzzing. Can't wait to hear the rest!

[Linn · Rating 4 out of 5]

~ 4.5 Stars ~

RTC

[BETH BROOKS-MOIR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

Vampires done well!! This is honestly well written. The world is unique, and the characters are quite lovable. I definitely recommend this series and author!!

[meesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

[Ashthenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good sequel

[Denise White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loving how the story is progressing, loving the plot and the interesting turn when it comes to the plot continue on the series off of the next book

[Valeria CN]

História transicional. Bem ok. Acho que o próximo vai ser FODA.
Dona autora, coloca esses ebooks no Unlimited pq meu dinheiro acabou! :~

[S]

DNF

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending had me laughing! 🤣🤣🤣

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf 75%

[Ink & Echo]

DNF at 22%